Holmes` Plan On The Button

March 18, 1985|By Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune.

LAS VEGAS — Larry Holmes, being of sound mind and sufficient bank balance, is blessed with an opportunity that has become rare to sports, especially boxing. He can walk away from it all now, and in a straight line. His business is nobody else`s business, but one can only hope he seizes the chance, never to look back.

After Friday night`s heavyweight championship victory against David Bey

--admittedly, another of those artificial contenders--conventional wisdom around the fistfighting community was that Holmes never had comported himself better. He had exhibited the patience of the veteran he is and the desire of the kid he was when he gained the title in 1978.

Now, all that`s left for Holmes is to monitor his place in history. He has campaigned, sometimes loudly, for a berth among his idol Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano. Experts can argue their relative merits forever, and the debate still might end in a draw. Comparing athletes is a touchy affair, particularly when evaluating evidence from different eras.

But by retiring when he`s on top instead of on the canvas or on welfare, Larry Holmes can depart with a sweet taste still in his mouthpiece. Automatically, that would elevate him to the most elite group of superstars from any game. We would remember Holmes not only as a superior craftsman, but as a champion who was able to say goodbye rather than succumb to the temptation to hang around.

``I hope Larry sticks to his promise, to get out before disaster strikes,`` said his august trainer, Eddie Futch, who has seen too much tragedy in too many corners. ``Larry is in a terrific frame of mind and in terrific shape for a man of 35. But every fight he takes, including Friday night`s, he knows that Father Time is on the other guy`s side. I don`t think Larry will change his mind. He`s a realist.``

Futch theorizes that Holmes accomplished two immediate goals Friday night. He proved that his skills were not as eroded as they appeared last November, when a hand injury complicated by a year`s layoff rendered Holmes a gawky figure in his strained triumph over James ``Bonecrusher`` Smith, another well-intentioned fellow who had only the proverbial puncher`s chance of upsetting an undefeated artist such as Holmes.

``Besides that, though, Larry can leave now by doing everything that`s been asked of him,`` Futch continued. ``He fought everybody in his time, and he beat everybody in his time. There`s only one fight he didn`t take . . . against Greg Page, and that was because Larry had a chance for more money against Marvis Frazier. There`s nothing wrong with that. Larry never dodged anybody. What else is a champion supposed to stand for?``

Futch lists Louis as the best heavyweight he has witnessed, followed by Ali and then Holmes. Marciano, says Futch, was marvelous, too, but Futch feels the Rock`s 49-0 record was enhanced by a few bouts against boxers who were fighting on memory. ``Marciano`s last fight, against Archie Moore, Archie was 42 years old,`` said Futch.

Holmes` roster of vanquished foes also includes some sub-luminaries, but whenever a man boxes for 12 years, he`s destined to meet the Beys and the Bonecrushers. However, here again Holmes could take a bow with head high. By stepping away with a 47-0 mark, he can be recalled as a champion who bypassed the obvious scenario of fattening up on lesser lights so as to become 50-0 or 51-0, or whatever. Malingering can be dangerous to one`s image, and besides, Holmes has prepared for the rest of his life.

``Larry has made a lot of money, but it took awhile, and maybe because of that, he never went for the fast lane,`` said Futch. ``After all these years, he trains as hard as if it were his first fight. But still, he`s got other interests. Between running and going to the gym for this bout, he was spending time in his office. That`s not the type of relaxing that he should do. It`s bound to catch up with him.``

Holmes need not apologize for anything, except for those intemperate moments when he let his tongue--and perhaps his desire to match Ali`s decibel level--get the best of him. Larry Holmes always says he`s happiest ``just being Larry Holmes,`` and he was at his best relaxing with family around Easton, Pa., or lolling around a hotel suite, cracking jokes, away from the crowds.

He was thought to be poorly constructed for a heavyweight because of spindly legs, and he was branded as gutless at the beginning. But after his first pro bout, for which he earned $63, Holmes exhibited considerable heart. He broke his thumb during the opening round against Roy Williams, but won. He was knocked down by Earnie Shavers--perhaps the most vicious thumper ever--but won. He took on Ken Norton with a ripped ligament in his left arm, but won the title he has not yet surrendered.

``That was a great bout,`` Futch said. ``It was nip and tuck till the last minute. For me, that was Larry`s most memorable. More so even than his win over Gerry Cooney.``

Perhaps. But boxing should not forget Oct. 2, 1980, when Holmes finally met Ali--who once had used Holmes as a sparring partner, whose absence left the void of greatness Holmes wanted so dearly to fill, who was the toughest of all heavyweight acts to follow. Holmes could have left-jabbed Ali into embarrassment that night. Instead, Holmes just politely beat Ali, then tapped him on the fanny.

``I`m an executive fighter now,`` said Holmes. ``If you want to remember me as something, remember me as one of the guys who saved his money.``

If Larry Holmes retires now, when he doesn`t have to, he`ll be remembered for more than that. Dare we repeat what Willie Mays batted his last year in baseball? .211.